I don't know about you, but I think trying to find an honest, reasonably priced handyman is a…read morehelluva lot riskier and scarier than using Grindr, Hinge or Tinder for a (cough) date.
Since I work from home, I do as much as possible to make my living space as attractive and pleasant as I am able without breaking my budget as a renter. For the past 5 years, I have 'made do' with limited kitchen counter space and no seating in that room. Sure, it's great to eat in the dining room, since that's what the room's function is, but I'm from a blue collar family and all meals were eaten in the kitchen and traditionally, all important decisions were made at the dinner table. As a teenager, I came out to my family at dinner so, yes, I know what I'm talking about.
Going on more than 4 years, I had been eyeing kitchen islands. Since I am about as handy as a blind, pawless cat, looking was as far as I ever got. Last month, though, probably because it felt like I really needed to change up all the cooking and eating at home that I've done over the past 5 months, I went boldly ahead and bought an Ikea Tornviker kitchen island. Since I am Carless Warren, I paid to have it shipped, which gave me an estimated 1 month wait for delivery and 4 weeks to fret and plan.
My initial glee and happy anticipation soon paled when I realized that if I did not find someone to come and put this together, it would sit in the delivery cartons until Hell froze over. Barring that, I would break it to bits in my frustration, whilst trying to assemble it. Thus, the Great Assembly Person Search began. I avoided Craigslist because it's been nothing but a dead zone in the past. No one I contacted there who was advertising handy person services ever bothered to call me back and I was not going to waste time again.
The first and probably one of the oldest and best rated business for Ikea assembly had a long wait time and I knew that once the island was in my home, I would want it put together and in use immediately. Next, I came here to Yelp and did a search. Some businesses would not come to my area, others never responded to calls or e-mails. I started imagining how macho I was going to look wearing chaps and a tool belt as I deflty and swiftly built my new island, then quickly disabused myself of that fantasy when I remembered Angie's List.
Like anything else, it was a crap shoot but I was given 6 names and numbers of businesses to contact for a quote. This one, Gandy's, got back to me the same day and told me they could have a handyman out to my home in 2 days time. How could I say no to such nearly instant gratification?
Melissa, the woman who set up the appointment, was very nice on the phone so I was immediately put at ease. She gave me the name of the person who would do the work, told me he was always punctual, offered a number of payment options (check, cash, credit card and Zelle), quoted reasonable rates and told me to call back if I had additional questions.
The day before the appointment, Sebastian, the person who was coming out, called to confirm the appointment and asked for a picture and specs on the piece he would be assembling so he would be sure to have the correct tools. Like Melissa, he was warm and friendly, sounded professional and made me feel confident that I'd made the right choice.
On assembly day, Sebastian called to say he was looking for parking, and then called me again when he was outside. He was equipped with a mask and his toolbox and was indeed, right on time.
I offered him a cold beverage or coffee, gave him brief instructions, told him I was available if he had questions but other than that, I would stay out of his way and leave him to the job. Lo and behold, he put the island together in the quoted period of time, did not interrupt my writing once, left the kitchen neater and cleaner than it was when he arrived and even offered to put the cardboard packing together for recycling. We chatted for a bit and I was so happy with his punctuality, friendliness and professionalism, I immediately started talking about using him for another job. I also tipped him for work done well.
This is a family owned and family run business. In this day and age, that still means a lot to me. I was treated fairly, honestly, with courtesy, respect, friendliness and professionalism. The work was top notch. Now I can't wait to have my first meal in my 'new' kitchen. This was a really fantastic experience-from start to finish!
